1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle display apparatus and a display method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In-vehicle devices, such as car navigation devices, have been proposed which display information that is obtained in real time by, for example, a Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) or a Radio Data System (RDS) using radio waves on a display. In addition, in-vehicle devices have been proposed which display real-time information that is acquired from the screen of the Internet by wireless communication using, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) or real-time information acquired by a distribution-type probe on a display.
In recent years, in-vehicle devices have been known which display, for example, a voice message or an icon in which geographical location data is associated with a short message on the map. For example, the user operates the touch panel of the in-vehicle device to post the geographical location data and a text message or uses a mobile phone to post a voice message. Then, the in-vehicle device receives the posts and displays the posted information, such as the received messages article, as an icon at the position on the map specified by the received geographical location data.
When the user selects the icon, the in-vehicle device displays the site of the posted message article or outputs the voice message attached to the selected icon. When there is a plurality of posts at the same position, the in-vehicle device changes, for example, the shapes or colors of the icons and displays the plurality of posts at the same time. When any one of the icons is selected, the in-vehicle device displays a list of posts in the vicinity of the selected position such that each post can be selected. In addition, the in-vehicle device may perform display limit such that only a specific item is displayed.
In recent years, open tools (services), such as Twitter (registered trademark), capable of sharing information in real time using information communication apparatuses, such as smart phones, mobile phones, and personal computers have come into widespread use. For example, the user starts Twitter (registered trademark), posts a short sentence including a predetermined number of characters, which is called a “tweet,” refers to the response of other persons to the post, and communicates with other persons. In addition, an Application Program Interface (API) related to geographical location data is opened to the public and Twitter (registered trademark) can transmit information related to each region or position.
However, in the related art, such as Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-278807, it is difficult for the user to know the content of the posted information displayed on the in-vehicle device at a glance. Therefore, there is a concern that the reading of the posted information or the posting of information will have an adverse effect on safe driving.
Specifically, since the in-vehicle device according to the related art displays all of the posted information, such as blog articles or tweets, acquired in real time on the screen, it is difficult for the user, such as the driver, to know the content of an enormous amount of posted information displayed on the in-vehicle device. Therefore, the driver take the eyes off the road during driving in order to operate the in-vehicle device to read the content of the posted information. As a result, it is difficult for the driver to concentrate on driving, which has an adverse effect on safe driving. In addition, the driver needs to directly operate the in-vehicle device to post information. In this case, it is difficult for the driver to concentrate on driving, which has an adverse effect on safe driving. Therefore, the structure in which the user perform a complicated operation is not preferable.
Meanwhile, it is considered that, after driving ends, the driver reads the posted information displayed on the in-vehicle device or posts information in order to ensure safe driving. However, in this case, when driving ends, the latest information is not obtained and real-time processing deteriorates. Therefore, it is difficult to transmit useful information in real time and effective use for example, blogs or Twitter (registered trademark).